PSU names 2014 Student Employees of the Year

Ashley Stein and Tyler Dietzschold haven’t even graduated from college, but already they have distinguished themselves as the kind of employees every employer would love to have. On Friday, Pittsburg State University recognized Stein and Dietzschold as the off-campus and on-campus Student Employees of the Year, respectively.

Ashley Stein and Tyler Dietzschold haven’t even graduated from college, but already they have distinguished themselves as the kind of employees every employer would love to have. On Friday, Pittsburg State University recognized Stein and Dietzschold as the off-campus and on-campus Student Employees of the Year, respectively.

“The quality of the nominees was exceptional,” said Mindy Cloninger, director of the Office of Career Services, which sponsored the event. “Ashley and Tyler rose to the top in a pool of very talented, highly respected, hard working student employees.”

Stein, a junior accounting major from St. Paul, Kan., is a cash receipts clerk at Pitsco, Inc.

In nominating Stein, her supervisor at Pitsco wrote, “Her performance is comparable to that of a much more seasoned professional...When she sees an opportunity to improve a process or fill a gap, she is the first to act.”

Dietzschold, a senior manufacturing engineering technology major from Chillicothe, Mo., is a lab assistant in Engineering Technology.

In nominating Dietzschold, his supervisor wrote, “His quality of work is stellar...This student exemplifies initiative. During a recent project, he not only took on the leadership role and motivated his fellow students, but also had to communicate with the customer and keep them up to date with where we were in the process.”

Stein said her position at Pitsco is the first job in the business world she has had and she has enjoyed the company culture.

“I love it,” Stein said. “It’s a family business and if you work there, you’re part of the family.”

Dietzschold, who will go to work for General Motors in Defiance, Ohio, after he graduates in May, said his work on campus has helped him hone his skills.

“Definitely one of the big things was learning time management,” Dietzschold said. “It has also helped me get better at talking to people and explaining things.”

PSU President Steve Scott told the many parents who attended to support their children that university staff were fond of them, too.

“We get pretty connected to these students,” Scott said. “It is a wonderful experience to work with them and they make such a difference for us. It is special that we get to watch them as they grow.”

This is the 25th year that PSU has honored its student employees.

Cloninger said the work that students do, both on-campus and in a wide variety of locations off-campus, benefits both the students and their employers.

“For students, the benefits are both financial and educational, because they gain real-world experience,” Cloninger said. “For employers, students offer valuable work and often new perspectives to the workplace.”